


I Know It's Hard But You Ain't Gonna Be Alone

by stormbornbxtch



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, One Shot, Rhaegar is sad, Single Parents, Takes place in a bar, alcohol consumption, for my baby cel, lyanna is amazing, their both struggling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:41:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22660432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stormbornbxtch/pseuds/stormbornbxtch
Summary: Rhaegar Targaryen had a voice so sweet, it brought his Lady Lyanna to tears.
Relationships: Lyanna Stark/Rhaegar Targaryen
Comments: 3
Kudos: 29





	I Know It's Hard But You Ain't Gonna Be Alone

**Author's Note:**

  * For [xdarksistahx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xdarksistahx/gifts).



> Inspired by Rain by The Teskey Brothers

Rhaegar slammed the glass down, groaning low as the rough whiskey burned his throat, warming his body as it flowed through him. Today had been a day. He was called out of work after Viserys had gotten into a fight at school with another boy in his grade named Ramsay. His little brother had beaten him until he was black and blue. Breaking his nose and punching out his front tooth with a black eye that prevented the other boy from seeing out of it. When asked about it, Viserys said nothing. It was Dany who had to tell him that the boy had been picking on her for weeks and it wasn’t until he had said something about their mother that Vis went off the deep end. 

He was suspended. 

Dany was getting bullied. 

Rhaegar’s paychecks were getting smaller and smaller the more time he spent with them.

And their parents were dead. 

His youth was escaping him before his eyes and there was nothing he could do about it. Their deaths were sudden and fresh, an impact that had changed their lives months ago. Rhaegar was forced to drop out of school and find work after learning his late bastard of a father had burned through most of their money, leaving just enough to take care of his gambling debts. They sold their family home and now lived in a small apartment on the southside of king’s landing, a shitty neighborhood with worse influences. The money he made from selling their house went towards his siblings college funds, just because he had lost the opportunity for himself doesn’t mean they should too. It was something they could look forward to, a guaranteed future and a reminder that their current situation wasn’t all there was or all there would be. 

He worked as a waiter in an overpriced restaurant that paid awful but it was a job and it kept food on the table. He was thankful for it, it’s where he had met Elia Martell. A now close friend who was putting herself through grad school with the help of her fiance, Arthur. They were with the kids now because apparently he needed to de-stress and ‘get laid’ as Arthur put it. 

Instead he was at a small bar on open mic night. Wallowing in his own self pity. Wondering how he could stop his little brother from completely reverting into himself and ending up in a gang or worse. Who he needs to talk to so the torment his sister was enduring could be put to an end. Wondering when sweet Vis grew so violent or when Dany developed her stutter and the constant twitch she got when someone came near her. He had been working too much but if he stopped and pulled from their savings he would never forgive himself. 

He thought about re-enrolling them into King’s Academy but he couldn’t afford it and the torment would probably only be worse there considering how many rich people his father fucked over before kicking the bucket. Rhaegar always knew he was a shitty man but sevens, his death r proved him correct. 

His mother however...he missed her. He wished she was here, if not to save him from the mess his life had become then to guide him through it. To tell him it would all be okay even if it wasn’t. He missed her everyday and he wasn’t sure he would ever stop. 

Warm wetness rolling down his left cheek pulled Rhaegar out of whatever daze he had fallen into. The frustration, anger and loss was eating away at him. He was a twenty-two year old college drop out taking care of a thirteen year old with anger issues and isolative tendencies and a nine year old who was developing crippling anxiety and more than likely, self image issues which could lead to fucking depression and fuck he’s spiraling. He took a deep breath, reaching for the beer he had yet to finish beside him. 

He hated beer but he just needed to drown himself and this was the cheapest shit they had in the house. And whiskey shots. 

He sniffled, turning his attention to the stage and holy shit. The sight took the breath from his lungs. One of the most beautiful women he had ever seen stood there, hair darker than the midnight sky stood on stage. She smiled at the audience, gripping the mic with confidence as she looked out onto the dimly lit room. He was sure she couldn’t see him. 

“Last call of the evening. Anyone with a song they would like to share before we began to close down, now's your chance.” Her voice was laced with honey, smooth and warm. Better than vinyl against his ears. She swayed slightly, white cotton dress moving with her. She shone a little underneath the fluorescent lights and Rhaegar felt his chest warm. She was ethereal. 

The urge to be near her overtook him. Maybe it was the whiskey and the three beers that were in his system but he stood. One foot in front of the other as his eyes never left her. He barely registered his own movement, stumbling towards the front of the almost abandoned bar. 

She smiled at him and Rhaegar felt one spread across his own lips. The gesture felt unfamiliar but not wrong. Just foreign.

He stepped forward, narrowly falling and the woman reached for his arm. Grasping him and helping him onto the elevated platform. She smelled like wild flowers and crisp air. His stomach leaped as he stood before her. Face inches away from her own. 

“You okay?” She asked and he nodded like a lovesick fool. She had soft features, soft but firm and her eyes. A deep brown that reminded Rhaegar of the ground after a fresh spring rain. His eyes traveled down her face, to her smooth neck and finally to the black button that held her name. 

“Lyanna” he breathed out, closing his eyes as the syllables slipped from his tongue. She laughed, anxiety clear in the beauty of it. 

“That’s my name.” He opened his eyes again, staring into her own as she stared back and for just a moment. Just a moment, he could see her falter. The coolness of her facade cracked. Just as quickly as it had come, it was gone. 

“Your song?” She asked, releasing him from her gaze and taking a step back. The added distance snapped Rhaegar out of whatever daze he had fallen into. Oh fuck, his gaze flickered around the bar wildly. He had never done this before, performed in front of people. Besides Dany and Viserys but it had been so long. 

There were maybe ten people in the audience at most. He couldn’t make out their faces, like shadows. He could do this. 

“Rain, Teskey Brothers.” He spoke without further thought.

Lyanna nodded, “I’ll see if we have it.” 

And with that, she disappeared from the stage. Rhaegar’s eyes followed her as she moved not being able to help himself. She was, there were no words to describe what she was. 

Hesitantly, he turned to face the room and smiled. The instrumental began to play and slowly, his eyes fluttered close. 

<>><<>   
  


_ “Is, is that rain? Or are you crying again?”  _

Lyanna froze in her tracks, the sound melting into her eardrums. She turned away from the bar and back to the pretty blonde on stage. His eyes were closed as he sang and she felt her gaze lock on him. He looked like an angel in the spotlight. Silver entrapped under a golden light, it was enchanting.

_ “Would it be the same, If I could hold you my friend?”  _

Lyanna found herself moving to the nearest surface, the counter of the bar, and sitting down on one of the stools to better focus on him. She should be working, trying to get as many tips as possible out of these drunken bastards but she couldn’t help herself. Something about his voice demanded her attention, like a gravitational pull she was ensnared in. 

_ “I know it's hard, to be alone” _

He sounded so sad, almost pained. Like a songbird with a shotgun trained on its being, accepting its doom right before her eyes. It made her heart ache. 

_ “A soul with no face is a lonely embrace” _

He sounded so deeply alone, so misunderstood and she didn’t know why the thought of that made her chest ache with understanding. Know it was a feeling she had long ago resigned herself to. 

_ “But I know it's hard, I know it's hard to be alone.”  _

Something about him seemed familiar, resonated with her body and spirit. As if they had crossed paths at some point but that wasn’t the case. She would remember him or at the very least he would remember her. Maybe in a past life.

The stare he gave her as he came onstage made her feel a bit uneasy. No one had ever looked at her that way, she chopped it up to the whiskey shots Benjen had been serving him for the past few hours and nothing more. Drunk men acted out of foolishness, most without reason so she had learned to never take it to heart. But this, this felt different somehow. As if she should. 

_ “Now there's clouds, between us all”  _

She’s not sure she’s ever heard a voice so beautiful. So raw and yearnful. For what? She had no idea. She wanted to know. 

There  comes a point when thoughts are no longer comprehensible in the presence of such divine talent. Her mind falls into a stupor of awe as the bewitching man sings. The music grew louder and his voice with it, but not in a way that overpowered the world around him. In a way that pulled everyone in, the kind of vocality a crowd of people with pressing matters on their hands would stop in their tracks to witness. 

Lyanna felt strangely fortunate to bear witness to his gift. As he belted notes perfectly, she could feel the emotion roll off him in waves. Emitting around the room, enrapturing the gazes of all those present including herself. How can someone so beautiful sound so broken?

She wished she could put a name to his face. Pretty boys weren’t usually her type but she could tell there was something lying deep beneath the surface of his attractive features. Voices like that didn’t come from the shallow. 

_ “I wanna hold you, In any way I know how”  _

His eyes slowly fluttered open and when they did, they met with hers. They were stained red and as he sang, she could see them well with tears. A long forgotten burn behind her own eyes grew as she watched him. Entranced by the power of his pain. She lost herself in the sound of him, in the runs and slight cracks of his vocal cords. Not perfect but better, so much better. 

It was real. 

When the warm wetness rolled down her cheeks, Lyanna paid it no mind. She could barely register anything else beside him and the feelings he stirred within her. She wasn’t an overly emotional person. Never had been and never would be but something about him here, in this moment, made her insides tremble. 

As the song reached its crescendo, Lyanna felt her heart do the same with their gazes interlocked. 

And when the song came to an end and his voice trickled off into silence, she longed for him to continue. The reality of the world didn’t fully set in until he looked away, breaking contact first. Lyanna inhaled a shaky breath, moving to wipe away at her cheeks. She hadn’t felt that moved in so long. By anything let alone anyone. 

Well that’s not true, her son Jon moved her everyday. Not like this however. 

The few stragglers in the crowd clapped for him and he nodded in their direction. A small, humble smile on his face before quietly leaving the stage. 

“Lyanna.” Benjen’s voice demanded her attention and reluctantly she gave it. 

“Before your shift ends, think ya could help me with some paperwork in the back?” He asked. For a moment, she wanted to say no and corner the strange man, have him divulge all his darkest secrets to her and more. She thought it best not to and nodded at her brother, standing and making her way towards him. Sparing a glance back in his direction, heart skipping a beat when their gazes met once again. 

Quickly she looked away, focusing on Benjen’s shirt as he led her to his office. When she returned, the silver haired man was gone and she found herself deflated a little at the realization. She pushed those feelings aside, moving to start closing down. Watching as the locals began to flood out as she lifted chairs and placed them on top of tables. The sooner she finished, the sooner she could get home and kiss her baby boy goodnight. 

“I-um, I don’t mean to bother you.” The voice crept up her neck, leaving goosebumps in its wake and she paused for a moment. Smiling to herself before placing the chair in hand down and turning to look up at him. 

Damn, he was pretty. A sharp jaw with soft edges, broad shoulders and full lips. He had maybe a foot on her in stature but she felt like an equal in his anxious presence. He played with his fingers, he was cute. 

“No bother at all.” 

He smiled, pearly and wide, shifted on his feet. She couldn’t help but return the gesture of kindness, liking the look of nervousness on him a bit more than sorrow. 

“I’m Lyanna.” She found herself saying, holding a hand out for him to shake. He took it and she felt like a little girl with the way her stomach jumped and her skin warmed at the action. His eyes, even deeper up close, were a deep brown almost...violet? At least in this dim light.

The sadness she had grown accustomed to when he sung was nowhere in sight. He was a little tired, a little tipsy, a little vulnerable but how couldn’t he be after baring his soul for everyone in that bar too see? It all made him more than beautiful in her eyes.

“Rhaegar.” 

She had never heard anything like that before, she liked the way the syllables rolled off his tongue.

For awhile they stood there, in silent intertwined gaze before she spoke up. 

“Mind giving me a hand?” She gestured to the bar behind her, a tinge of uncertainty hit her after she posed the question. It was weird to ask a stranger to do your job for you. In her defence, she wanted to get this done and...spend a little more time with him. 

Rhaegar smiled once again, she was beginning to grow infatuated with the twinkle in the corner of his eyes whenever he did so. 

“No, not at all.” 

The way her chest fluttered at his words, at the smoothness of his voice. Washing over her like a cool breeze. She was a complete goner and from the twinkle in his eyes, she could tell he might’ve been too. The feeling should’ve frightened her, pushed her to create distance between the two and to build her walls up high. Turn him away and never look back. It didn’t though. Instead, it made her feel something she hadn’t felt in a long time. 

Like coming home.

**Author's Note:**

> Long overdue one shot for my boo, hope you guys enjoy. Please let me know what you think.


End file.
